How times have changed!Nine years ago, on Christmas eve, President Arthur N. Robinson, fired Prime Minister Basdeo Panday and invited Patrick Manning to form a government and get a confidence vote and convene Parliament.
Robinson justified his action by saying the country needed a government of "morality and spirituality", a comment that became a divisive factor because it suggested that Manning's faith was more acceptable to the nation than Panday's Hindu religion.
But Robinson was really getting his revenge.
Contrary to what some political historians would say, Robinson would never have been prime minister in 1986 if Panday had not handed him the leadership of the National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR), which was a unitary party formed from all the political elements, including Panday's United Labour Front (ULF).
The ULF was the official opposition and the only party other than the People's National Movement (PNM) with any significant influence in Trinidad and Tobago politics. Robinson had a Tobago constituency and nothing more, and in that election Panday was generous enough to hand Robinson's party "safe" ULF seats, including Princes Town, which he took away from his brother and handed to Jennifer Johnson.
Panday said in hindsight he might have won that election if he had insisted on holding on to the leadership, but he did not believe that the nation was ready to accept an "Indian leader", although he has always insisted that the term "Indian" was and still is inaccurate since all the people of Trinidad and Tobago are the same, regardless of their ancestry.
Robinson and Panday went their separate ways after 1986 and the United National Congress (UNC) was born out of Panday's conviction that he needed to continue his fight for the masses outside of government, since Robinson's agenda was not in synch with his own.
But when the 1995 election ended in a tie in Trinidad with Robinson holding two seats in Tobago, the former prime minister became the kingmaker and returned the favour and made Panday Prime Minister.
But Panday was never happy with that arrangement and neitther was Robinson. And by the time Panday got Rupert Griffith and Vincent Lasse to desert the PNM and join his government he had no need for Robinson. So he played on the man's ego and pushed him to accept the post of President.
Panday agreed that was one of the most controversial moves he ever made but he felt that it was the only way to proceed because Robinson was determined to sit in cabinet and be an obstructionist to show that Panday would fail as a leader.
But Panday got a rude shock when his unprecedented move backfired and Robinson refused to be a figurehead president. That set the stage for a political feud that was to climax in the Christmas Eve presidential coup that kicked Panday out of Whitehall.
The president and the prime minister fought on many issues, two of which were highly controversial. In one instance Robinson refused Panday's request to fire two Robinson-backed senators; the other had to do with Panday's insistence on appointing to the Senate members of the UNC who had failed to win seats in the 2000 election.
Robinson backed down on both issues.
But the real fight came when Ramesh L. Maharaj betrayed Panday and the UNC, did a deal with Manning and was ready to have Robinson fire Panday and appoint Manning as Prime Minister. Panday learned of the plot and literally pulled the rug from under them and asked Robinson to dissolve Parliament and call fresh elections.
This was 10 months after Panday had won a majority. He moved quickly to pre-empt the move. Robinson refused to do what Panday asked, but Panday insisted that according to the constitution the president was obliged to act on the recommendation of the prime minister.
Robinson had no choice and dissolved Parliament. But in that election of Dec. 10, 2001 Panday fell victim to both Robinson and Maharaj. First Maharaj and his Team Unity set out to cause the UNC to lose its majority. And it did. Anyone who believes that Maharaj intended to win a seat must be truly naive. He had one goal: to get Panday out of government. And he achieved it.
The next act involved Robinson. And when the infamous Crowne Plaza accord left the president with the final say after the 18-18 tie, he moved against Panday, ignoring all constitutional advice, and appointed Manning as Prime Minister.
During the 2007 election campaign Manning reminded UNC-Alliance supporters that it was Maharaj was put him in government. The PNM Political Leader called the former Attorney General his "best friend in politics", noting that it was Maharaj who gave him a photograph of Panday's upscale apartment in London, which he displayed in Parliament in 2001.
Today, Manning has become the most unpopular leader in the modern history of Trinidad and Tobago and for the first time a PNM leader is facing an open revolt from inside his party.
Things have also changed on the opposition side. For the first time, Panday is facing a challenge for the leadership of the UNC and one of the people trying to unseat him is Maharaj.
The man who betrayed Panday, then came back into the bosom of the party only to be pushed aside again for demanding internal changes, is going after Panday's job.
Politics is a strange vocation. Panday is on record as saying he would sleep with the devil to achieve his goals and that politics has a morality of its own. So don't be surprised if the tables turn again and Maharaj and Panday settle their differences and become a team once more.
Jai Parasram Toronto, Dec. 24, 2009
1 comment:
Nine years ago, Jai, not five. And, yes, we recall that day with the attendant despair it then brought. That's why Ramesh's goose is properly cooked. And if it is, so, too, the one whom he then removed from power. And if it isn't, then he has to reconcile his then position with the now, where he's aligned very closely with the same one.
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